This invention relates to devices and methods for encouraging persons to wash their hands with soap and for longer than the usual hand washing time intervals.
There is a high incidence of communicable diseases in the U.S. as well as throughout the entire world. The American Society of Microbiologists has indicated that adequate hand washing will greatly reduce the incidence of communicable diseases. There is special concern for such contacts as person to person, person to pets, persons to children, persons to home food, persons to public food, persons to money, persons coughing and sneezing, persons use of home bathrooms and persons use of public restrooms. Recent surveys have revealed that nearly 95 percent of the people claim to have washed their hands after use of public restrooms but actual observations reveal that this figure does not exceed 66 percent.
There is also a tendency to hurry up the hand washing process and do a cursory job for only several seconds and this is believed inadequate. Failure to wash hands adequately may result in the spreading of colds, diarrhea, and other infectious diseases such as meningitis, flu and other viruses.
Several prior patents relate to hand washing.
Gorra U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,910 discloses method and apparatus for monitoring and reporting hand washing. Allen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,942 discloses wash stations and method of operation which monitors hand washing and assists in hand washing. Stone U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,487 discloses a tooth brush holder and a timer for encouraging tooth brushing.
A hand washing display device and method preferably located adjacent a hand washing facility for encouraging hand washing which includes a display panel, a first message indicia on the display panel encouraging hand washing longer than a minimum time interval, preferably fifteen seconds, a second message indicia on the display panel depicting germs for indicating consequences for not washing according to the first message and timing means in the form of an hour glass or a digital clock indicating that time has exceeded the predetermined minimum time interval of the first message indicia. Soap dispensers are one way of supporting the panel and the springs are used as the timing devices.